Book Review: The Demonologist
Book: The Demonologist
Author: Andrew Pyper
Genre: Fiction/Thriller/Horror/Supernatural
Summary: David Ullman is a literature professor at Columbia University, with special expertise on Paradise Lost. The epic poem about Satan and his court of fallen angels makes for a fascinating lecture, but at the end of the day for David, it’s just another text, a class work of fiction. . . until he travels to Venice with his beloved daughter, Tess, who - to David’s utter horror and disbelief - is abducted by one of the very demons whose existence he denies. Following symbols taken from the pages of Paradise Lost, and opening himself to the possibility that demons walk among us, David races to save his daughter from the entity’s grasp. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever. - Simon and Schuster, 2013.
This is easily the book that scared me the most in 2018. I don't think it was because I read it in October or because I read it mostly at night. Pyper really knows just how to write a scary novel. The fact is that it's scary because of the content. It's scary because of the way he writes the content.
David is a college professor who is invited by a mysterious woman to go to Venice to investigate a suspicious incident. When David goes, he realizes he's walked into a trap. If he doesn't complete the mission in time, he will lose his daughter forever to the demon who took her. What follows is his journey to find his daughter and defeat the demon who took her.
The book is a nailbitter. Pyper masterfully builds the plot so that once David's daughter is taken by the demon, things get heart-racingly suspenseful. There's none of your stereotypical jumpscares or overdramatic events. Instead, Pyper writes events in ways that are believable - that's what makes it so scary and unnerving. The world is not one filled with all sorts of supernatural creatures to make it a fantasy - or simple ghosts to make it an easy horror novel. No, Pyper makes sure the world is as close to the one we live in now - only with the existence of angels and demons in a very real, very unsettling way. If you're a religious person or simply believe in the existence of demons, this book will chill your soul. I won't give away any spoilers, but you can't trust anyone or anything David encounters. It made me a little paranoid and extremely unsettled. I was reluctant to turn the lights off and didn't like being alone for too long.
Despite my fear and lack of sleep, I really enjoyed this book. Taking a simply plot - a man's journey to find his daughter, and making it so raw and charged, is an intense experience I haven't had for a long time and I enjoyed it immensely. If you want a scary story that seems believable enough to be real, you have to check this one out.
I give The Demonologist an A+.
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